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Another year of waiting for The Winds of Winter to blow is in store for fans of George RR Martin, as his publisher confirmed there are no plans for the much-anticipated latest volume from his A Song of Ice and Fire series to appear in 2015.

No prince Aegon? No Iron Islands? Varys and Tyrion together? More battles at the wall?

Definitely veering far off the books at this point, but that's not a surprise since they are saying Season 7 will be the last season of the show. I'm kind of glad, because I know I won't be able stop myself from watching, and I don't want the books to be too spoiled. Hopefully we get book 6 before the last season starts in April of 2016.

I wonder if they will show Arya or Jon warging this season? Or if there will be any hints as to Jon's parentage?

Personally, I wish GRRM had a more judicious editor to whip his ass into shape. I think he's completely derailed the series at this point. I've generally disliked the last two books and find them to be plodding pieces that introduce new complications without resolving old ones. I feel like the story has gotten away from him.

__________________In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.
- H. L. Mencken

Personally, I wish GRRM had a more judicious editor to whip his ass into shape. I think he's completely derailed the series at this point. I've generally disliked the last two books and find them to be plodding pieces that introduce new complications without resolving old ones. I feel like the story has gotten away from him.

And that's a ****ing joke to me. I read all 5 books 2 years go and this pisses me off. I can't imagine what it's like to have started in 1996 with the original book. What a slap in a face to all the readers that have been with him for almost 20 years. To not finish before the show is outrageous. Now I get that these books are enormous and I wouldn't want him to sacrifice quality but with all the damn book tours he takes and all the side projects, he is milking it at the expense of his long-time readers.

Maybe I am just naive, but if I was a diehard and started the tv series, I would hate to spoil the ending for other people, but that's what is going to happen. To what extent, who knows, but at least some of the ending is gonna be revealed in the show before the books. Like other people, it's going to be hard for me to ignore the the show and wait for the books. It's not really about patience. But I would rather have the show spoil it than have some radio station or random person I meet accidentally spoil it for me.

It's just a gut feeling, but I don't think the last three seasons are going to spoil all that much. I think they're going to be a complete departure from the books.

Although...

With book 6 likely coming out early next year, it's possible that season 6 will be brought back in line with book 6.

I don't really fault Martin with taking a long time between books. I've been trying to write a book for (literally) sixteen years, and have so far gotten exactly nowhere with it. It's an extremely difficult and time consuming thing to do. And this isn't some hack thriller or mystery series coming out with the next braindead 300-page part of a series every year or two. We're talking about a 1000-page behemoth. So while I would've liked three or four years per book and the the whole thing being done already, I can certainly understand it taking five years between ADWD and TWOW.

Hopefully we get word of a publication date this summer and the book just before season 6.

It's just a gut feeling, but I don't think the last three seasons are going to spoil all that much. I think they're going to be a complete departure from the books.

Although...

With book 6 likely coming out early next year, it's possible that season 6 will be brought back in line with book 6.

I don't really fault Martin with taking a long time between books. I've been trying to write a book for (literally) sixteen years, and have so far gotten exactly nowhere with it. It's an extremely difficult and time consuming thing to do. And this isn't some hack thriller or mystery series coming out with the next braindead 300-page part of a series every year or two. We're talking about a 1000-page behemoth. So while I would've liked three or four years per book and the the whole thing being done already, I can certainly understand it taking five years between ADWD and TWOW.

Hopefully we get word of a publication date this summer and the book just before season 6.

As someone who has spent the last four years writing a novel, I understand most of that sentiment..... but.

Martin has spent countless hours at different comic-cons, press events, and writing OTHER material between the release of ADWD and TWOW. Before last year, every time he was asked about the possibility of the series catching the books, he brushed it off and said they could "make a prequel season" or make a "couple of movies" while he caught up.

HBO made it clear from the beginning that a prequel season was not in their interests, and DD have said since season 2 that they didn't imagine going past 7-8 seasons.

So the show continues to go full steam ahead, and it seems like EVERYONE sees the series catching up to the books except George R.R. Martin. While he continues to do press tours, travel, and work on other projects, he openly admits that the only time he's comfortable writing TWOW is when he's in his basement two finger typing on an 80's era Wordstar app. In spite of these insane conditions, the man continues to travel with reckless abandon. If he had written 300 words a day from the launch of the show, TWOW would be on store shelves now.

Now Martin is screwed, and he knows it. If I had to guess, the man got catapulted into stardom and got caught up in the accolades and recognition that goes along with it. This could have happened to a lot of people... but since he had book readers who have been devoted to his works for the past 20 years, I think it was his responsibility to continue working on the books since he sold off the rights to his show.

Personally, I feel like the man has created a albatross with the last two books in the series. Lately, he and his publisher have even insinuated that an eighth book may be inevitable to complete ASOIAF. I believe it's becoming clear that the problems that he's created with his novels has pushed his passions elsewhere, and DD interpretation of ASOIAF may be the only ending we'll ever get to see.

This is a horrific possibility to ponder, but GRRM has said that he's instructed his wife to torch all of his uncompleted outlines/manuscripts if he passes before the series is over.

If you know anything about his history he's always been an eclectic guy. While you might want to lock him in his den and skip all the other crap you don't care about, whether it's editing with Gardener Dozois or Wild Cards or Game of Thrones scripts or public appearances, the reality is that he's always had a lot of irons in the fire. I don't think he's doing all the non ice and fire just to avoid writing it